It’s common knowledge or should I say experience that the growing season is about a full month ahead of schedule in Madison this year. That means that many garden crops are done growing. What should you do with those left over potato plants, tomato plants, climbing green beans and others?
First, if you have a compost bin chop up the plants and put them into the bin with a little water. They will begin to decompose quickly in the remaining dog days of August.
A simpler and less labor intensive solution is to pile the crops right into the garden. With rain and sun they will begin to decompose naturally. At the end of the season turn them into the soil. In the spring they will help hold in moisture from winter snow and return the nutrients taken from the soil the previous season.
